Pembroke attorney for the elderly killed in rock climbing mishap

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)

Before he was killed in a rock-climbing accident earlier this month in his native Utah, Stephen Baker built a law practice here with his grandmother in mind.

It was because of her that Baker, an attorney from Epsom who died on Sept. 3 while hiking with four of his six siblings, chose to represent seniors, helping them maneuver through the often complex and exploitative world of estate and Medicaid planning.

Baker, who was 38, died while rappelling in some of the remote canyons in Utah’s Zion National Park. He fell about 80 feet to his death during a 300-foot descent, according to two media reports that cited Alan Alldredge, the Kane County sheriff chief deputy.

Emergency personnel reached the area in a helicopter, but Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, the reports said. No further information was available at press time, and Alldredge did not return a pair of phone calls made to his office.

Baker was born and raised in Utah and became a devout member of the Church of Latter Day Saints, a local friend said. Biographies on his law practice website and a GoFundMe page, created to benefit his wife and two young sons, say he worked in the construction and mining industries before joining the Army National Guard, serving as a staff Sergeant.

He earned his bachelor’s degree in international business in Salt Lake City and moved here to attend the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He opened his own practice, called Safe Harbor, last year in Pembroke.

“I had the misfortune of watching my grandmother suffer through Alzheimer’s disease which eventually took her life,” Baker wrote on his law website. “Through that experience, I developed a passion for estate planning, elder law, guardianships and Medicaid planning. I have come to realize that through some simple planning, a lot of heartache can be avoided.”

The heartache in this instance occurred when news of Baker’s death spread through Pembroke and its surrounding towns. Baker began planning the trip to his home state months ago, according to his GoFundMe page, which added that he and his six siblings hadn’t all been together in several years.

Kelly Nericcio, whose son attended Cub Scouts with the older of Baker’s two boys, said Baker and his wife, Tricia, were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints and did a lot of good deeds for a lot of people.

“He was always giving to others,” Nericcio said by phone. “He served in the National Guard, and if you needed something, you could call them. They were those kinds of people. If you had an emergency, you knew you could count on them.”

The GoFundMe page, which stated that Baker never “got around to purchasing life insurance” due to the recent expenses of starting his own law firm, will help Tricia and her two sons, ages 3 and 5.

Tricia was in Utah recently for her husband’s funeral, Nericcio said, and was unavailable for comment.

A spaghetti-and-meatball benefit dinner, coordinated by Nericcio and Epsom resident Susan Pepin, will be held on Sept. 29 from 5 to 8 p.m. at the Epsom Elks Lodge. Tickets are $5 and will be sold at the door.

(Ray Duckler can be reached at 369-3304 or rduckler@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @rayduckler.)